GIRARDIN (Jean). - Lot 126

GIRARDIN (Jean). Paris, 1803–1884. Chemist. Held the chair of chemistry at the Rouen School of Agriculture until 1857, then served as dean and professor at the Faculty of Sciences in Lille. Autograph letter signed “J. Girardin,” addressed to Dr. Lestory. Rouen, November 20, 1847. 1 page, in-8 format, on letter paper. An interesting scientific and administrative letter in which Girardin requests specific information about the town of Caudebec-en-Caux. In particular, he asks for “the current population figure” as well as “the state of its industry and commerce,” demonstrating a concern for statistical accuracy and an empirical approach characteristic of 19th-century scholars. Addressing Dr. Lestory, a battalion commander in the National Guard, whom he considers particularly well-positioned to answer these questions, Girardin situates his inquiry within a network of scholarly correspondence where science, local administration, and economic observation of the region intersect. This document reveals the interest that chemists and agronomists of the time had in demographic and industrial realities, against a backdrop of the development of applied statistics and the study of regional resources.